Close not option for Prexies’ Adkins
Kurt Adkins
After taking the baton from Ronnie Paith, Kurt Adkins of Washington focuses on the finish line during the 4x100 relay at the WPIAL track and field championships. Washington finished fifth with a 44.92 time in the Class AA division.
Kurt Adkins hates losing. It doesn’t matter if it’s by an inch or a meter, the Washington High School senior isn’t afraid to show his distaste for watching someone else celebrate victory.
It didn’t matter last spring that the someone else was his teammate DeQuay Isbell, who won the WPIAL championship in the 400-meter dash. The same goes for the Washington-Greene County Coaches’ Track & Field Championships last month when Adkins lost the 100-meter dash, despite crossing the finish line at the same time as Ringgold’s Brennan Williams.
Winning is important to Adkins – more important than scoring a touchdown in football, a pin on the wrestling mat or a key hit on the baseball diamond.
That’s why Adkins didn’t take the night off after every baseball practice this spring. Instead, he and his father, Bob, went to the nearest available track to work out on his own.
Playing two sports requires self-discipline.
Most high school athletes would be discouraged with such a schedule. Adkins embraced it. Those hours with his father and the increased practice with the Prexies since baseball season ended, brought Adkins to Shippensburg University for the PIAA Track & Field Championships, which begin today with the preliminary round in track events and the finals in 14 field events.
After winning the WPIAL Class AA title in the 200-meter dash last Thursday, the Seton Hill football recruit will compete in four events at Shippensburg University – the 100 and 200-meter dashes and 400 and 1,600-meter relays.
What’s Adkins’ plan for his first trip to the state meet? That’s simple: win.
“I’ve been busting my butt in practice,” Adkins said. “I’ve been doing my best to push (Isaiah Robinson), we’ve been pushing each other. I’ve been drinking better, eating better. I’m doing everything I can do to give myself the little edge I might need.”
Adkins is one 21 local boys that qualified for the state meet. It was a journey that looked unlikely when he stepped away from the sport as a sophomore in high school.
Competing in two sports during the same season wasn’t always an option for Adkins. As a freshman, he chose track over baseball because he competed on Washington’s team in the Pony League World Series. The next year, he switched to baseball for Wash High.
As a junior, Adkins wanted to do both, so he met with Wash High athletic director Joe Nicolella. As long as both coaches agreed to it and Adkins’ grades remained strong, he could compete in both sports.
“The first couple weeks, it was really tough coming out,” Adkins recalled. “A lot of times, I would have to come to meets after baseball practice and just run. No warmups or anything, so that’s definitely taken some getting used to. As it went on, I got used to it.”
He did not qualify for the PIAA championships as a junior as Wash High’s baseball team reached the WPIAL Class AA playoffs, but when the Prexies did not qualify for the postseason this spring, Adkins turned to track full time.
That meant no longer having to show up in the middle of a dual meet and brought one factor that Adkins had missed during those solo workouts: competition.
“You were able to see the difference this week with him being able to be with the team and having kids push him to do his best,” Wash High track coach Teresa Booker said. “It makes a big difference and I hope that pays off this weekend. He definitely thrives off competition.”
What motivates Adkins more than competition? A severe dislike of losing. The 100-meter dash at the county coaches’ meet still stings. The same goes for the 100-meter at the WPIAL Team Track Championships at Baldwin earlier this month.
Adkins struggled in the race, but ended the night with strong performances in the 200-meter dash and the 1,600-meter relay.
At the WPIAL Individual Track & Field Championships last Thursday, Adkins took fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.15. The finish was impressive against top competition, but he wasn’t satisified.
A convincing win in the 200-meter dash was the only option. With a second phase that helped him separate the competition, Adkins captured the WPIAL championship, defeating Monessen’s Andrey Bolton by 0.33 seconds.
It was at the Washington-Greene County Coaches’ Track & Field Championships where Adkins made a decision, one that elevated him from exceptional athlete to champion. The second seed in this weekend’s Class AA 200-meter dash, Adkins hopes that same desire for victory leads him to another gold medal.
“After that 100, not only after that whole day, that lit a fire under me,” Adkins said of the loss at the county coaches’ meet. “I hate to lose and I love to win. I decided that day I was never going to win if it was a tie. I had to make every race convincing. I decided I had to compete at a different level.”